Wrapper-feed mechanism for wrapping-machines.



H. Y. ARMSTRONG.

WRAPPER FEED MECHANISM FOR WRAPPING MACHINES.

AFPLICATION FILED OCT. 9, 1909.

Patented Jan. 28, 1913 5 SHBETS-SHBET 1.

H. Y. ARMSTRONG.

WRAPPER FEED MECHANISM FOR WRAPPING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 9, 1909.

1,051,477. Patented Jan. 28, 1913,

5 BHEETSSHEET 2.

H. Y. ARMSTRONG.

WRAPPER FEED MECHANISM FOR WRAPPING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED OCT.9, 1909.

1,05 1 ,477. Patented Jan. 28, 1913.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3 H. Y. ARMSTRONG.

WRAPPER FEED MECHANISM FOR WRAPPING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 9,1909.

7 a 7 4 n 0 W m M mm H. Y. ARMSTRONG. WRAPPER FEED MECHANISM FOR WRAPPING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 9, 1909.-

Patented Jan. 28, 1916.

5 BHEETS-SHBBT 5.

UNITED STATES PATENT QFLLTlFJE.

HARRY YARRINGTON ARMSTRONG, F ELGIN, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOIL 1Q ARIMSTRJNG WRAPPING MACHINE COMPANY, OF LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY, A (53?03-11'13611 O33 KENTUCKY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

ira'tentesl Jan. 28. 1313.

Application filed October 9, 1909. Serial No. 521,334.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, HARRY Y. ARMSTRONG, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Elgin, in the county of Kane and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in VVrapper Feed Mechanism for lVi-appingltlachines; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to wrapper or sheet feeding mechanisms for Wrapping machines and other uses designed, for instance, to de liver wrappers to a wrapping mechanism by Which the wrappers are Wrapped about the articles.

The invention consists in the matters hereinattcr set forth and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

My improved sheet or wrapper delivery mechanism is herein shown as designed for use with a wrapping machine, such as is shown in my prior United States Letters Patent, Number 890,953; granted June 16, 1908, and Number 918,641, granted April 20, 1909.

The Wrapper feeding mechanism embraces in its coi'nplete assemblage as applied to the machine illustrated, means for feeding both an inner and an outer wrapper into the path of an article to be Wrapped. The outer wrapper feeding means embrace means for separately stripping individual wrappers or sheets from a bundle held compactly in a suitable holder or i'nagazine and feeding them to a wrapper recess beneath the magazine into the path of the article to be Wrapped.

Whole or in part in any given adaptation of the improvements to sheet feeding mechanisms.

As shown in the drawings, Figure l is a vertical sectional View of a sheet feeding mechanism made in accordance with my invention. F ig. 2 is a plan view thereof, with parts in section. Fig. 3 is a side elevation. F ig. t is an elevation of the opposite side of the mechanism, parts being shown in section. Fig. 5 is vertical section on the indirect line of Fig. 1, looking in the direetion indicated by the arrow. Fig. 6 is an axial section of the stripper roller for stripping the individual sheets or wrappers from the sheet holding means. Fig. 7 is a transverse section on the line 77 of Fig. 6. Figs. 8 and are details of the friction elements of the stripper rolie". Figs. 10 to 17, both inclusive, are plan views and vertical sectional views, illustrating the opera" tion of the stripper roller to strip the individual wrappers or sheets from the magazinc or other holding means, as will hereinafter be described, the construction being more or less diagrammatically shown in these figures.

Only such parts of the wrapping in chine proper are herein shown Will facilitate an unders riding o" the application of my invention thcret A machine being fully shown in my aroresaid Letters Patent, Nunrher 890,953 and Number 91 .411.

2.55 designates a hopper for a vertical stack of gums a or other icles to be wrapped, from the lo er end of which the gums are discharged into a way 26 by means of a plunger *2? that reciprocates through. said lower end of the hopper. Said way 26 eX- tends over two wrapper receiving recesses 29 and 30 1x0 wh ch wrappers are deposited by .pper Feeding inechamsms, the dclivered wrappers e. .e sides acr gun'is so gums as tr y 7 nding at their upper the path of the N folded about the anced through the way and through a itiruation 31 of said way that constitute, part. of the wrapping mechunism. as set forth in my aleresaid prior patents. The recess 2 receives the thin inner ra ipers Z discharged thereinto by the strip cutting mechanism above, and the recess 30treceives the outsicle Wrappers or sheets (1 that are fed thereinto by the sheet feeding lXlQLLQS thereabo 'e end hereinafter 'to be tlcscribed. v

designates, as a whole, a horizontal magazine, disposed longitudinally of the machine, for containing the outer Wrappers a, sairl wrappers being arrangeti vertically a compact group in the magazine and contained between a stripper roller 36 at the front end the magazine and. a suitable pressure deriae (not shown) at the reruend of the magazine. '--A form of pres sure device suitable for this purpose is shown in my prior U. S. Patent, No. 890,958 dated June 16, 1908, comprising a follower in rear of the group of Wrappers placed under the influence of a, Weight tending to press it and the wrappers toward the strip per roller 36. Said magazine is in. position to hold the outermost wrappers therein over the outer Wrapper receiving recess 30 in such manner that the outer in'zippers or sheets are delivered by said stripper roller directly and vertically front the magazine into said, recess. V

The stripper roller 36 is fixed to a horizontal rotetive shaft 38 which is mounted in (not suitable bczirin s in the inacl'i'oe ojt peoiol shown). Th stripper roller is construction, and is more clearly shown in Figs. 1, (i, 7, 8, 9 and 10 to 17, both inclu sivc, and constitutes one of the features of the present invention. The said roller i so arranged as to be rotated continuously and to etlect an intcri'nittent stripping or Withdrawal of the Wrappers from the magazine and deposit them in the WHLPPCI 30 below. It comprises a gem-rally cylindric shell 42 having end enlargements or flanges 43, 4-1. The flanges have smooth which bear'thron hout the pr ncipal parts of their exterior int-es against thowroppere at the side margins of the letter. lllhe grip ping portion 01" the strip r roller embraces friction surf es which (1:9 formed on the curved or cylindric feces 0t friction blocks all {i6 that are set into an ope ing l? at one side of the central or smaller portionof the 5 hollow shell and elol bet 76611 clamping disks 48, 48 that are iitte-cl over the Shaft- Within the shell and we against the friction hlot Said chicks may be manic oi. rulil'ier or line inziterial. As .herein shown two pairs of friction hlocis 46 are employed the blocks of each pair .ing flat against each other, with two clamping disks 4 .8 engaging their outer sides to press them to ether. The said clamping di ks are made 9 a diameter to transversely fill the cylindric shell and have ectciitric extensions 50 that extend through the openingiin the shell and are provided with teeth or irojections 51 that are embedded into the riction blocks 4:6 to more securely hold the latter in clamped or pressed place, as shown in lii s. 6 and 7. The said clamping (lie-ks spaced from each other and the outer end of the roller by thick spacing rings fitted over the shaft Within the shell. The parts are confined from displacement, entlwise of the roller, between a shoulder 53 on the shaft 38 and a follower sleeve 5% surrounding the outer curl of the shaft, said follower sleeve being forced inwardly by mean" of it nut 55 that is threaded t outer end of the Si 22ft J.

The lizingos or ei'ilargenients 43, 455i of the stripper roller are cut away at 56, 56 in line with the opening 47 of the smaller part of the roller through which the friction blocks extend, the said flanges being reduced to the diameter of the smaller part of the roller, RS shown in F gs. 6, l0 and 12. The removal of the thtngcs or enlargements to constitute the recesses 56, is for the purpose at giving-the friotin surfaces of the roller friction lElO-QlIS being the only parts that project beyond the rhller in the part of the roller occupied by the Wrapper engaging feces of semi l'iloclrs.

The follower sleeve A is provided at its inner (Elitl with a flange 53? that bears against the outermopt ring F2, and said flange. at sitio there'n an eccentric portion which its a notch 59 in the flange 4% in line with the opening 47, through which not 5.) the eccentric portione'ot' the cianipirig rings are adapted to when assembling the parts in the roller. The engagement of the eccentric portion 58 of the flangeh? with the notch 59 serves also to lock the follower sleeve from rotation reletivtily to the rolle r will be obvious, In

order to space the clamping disks at. their sides reinote from the friction blocks, I provide spec on tribes 6t, 1 which fill the spaces bet x the inner feces of comp-onion clamping cl '5, end said tunes may be held in place by short rivets '32, 852 extending therethrot h end riveted or otherniise fixed to said disks 7 1 It will he noted that the curved gripping of the friction blocks 46, constituting parts of roller, lie approximately in the circumferential line of flanges or enlargements of the me l portion of the Wheel at rat. or" ssiri enlargements. blocks thus constitute the ing surfaces of the roller, the

i effective grip :1

remaining} portions of the Pollen which contactwith the wrappers or sheets 3, being smooth. pr-

shetl surfaces of the flanges or enlergemc: vrhich'do not operate to strip or drag t e sl'ioets from the nmgazine.

The friction blocks are each shown as provided at the intersect ion of one of its end or radial margins and its curved marginwith a lateral oil'set portion or extension (Figs.

5, 8 and 9) arranged to fit in a recess or notch 66 in the corresponding end of a mating friction block. The projection 65 of each block is made of a lateral thickness equal to the marginal thickness of the companion friction block, so that when the blocks are interfitted in the roller the gripping margins of said blocks are laterally offset, more clearly shown in Figs. 5. S and 9, with the projection of each block of a pair in the plane of the main marginal portion of the other block. The purpose of this arrangement will be understood from arousideration of the following: The advance ends of the friction blocks or elements. con sidered with respect to the direction of rota-- tion thereof, are subject to relatively severe wear, owing to the fact that. they first strike the wrappers or sheets, when rotating down Wardly against the same, as indicated in Fig. 13. Such wearing of the advance ends of the blocks cuts away the corners (57 so as to bring them radially inside the general circumference of the roller, thereby delaying the stripping action of the roller to an ex tent corresponding to the shortening of the friction surface. \Vhen such wear occurs, the blocks may be removed and the advan e ends thereof cut baclrwardly a sutlicient distance to remove the worn corner thereof and to present another sharp corner (37. When the blocks are replaced they are angularly adjusted with respect to each other to advance the forward projections 65 a distance equal to the length of the portions so cut away, and thereby properly position or fix the freshly cut gripping corners. The position of the advance ends of the gripping blocks is fixed by means of lugs or projections 69 on the smaller diameter of the stripper roller, as shown in Fig. 5 and 7, which terminate at their ends just short of the gripping corners 67. The lateral overlapping arrangement of the blocks permits of such arrangement without materially breaking the lateral continuity of the curved friction surfaces, and also without shorten ing the length of the friction surfaces, circumferentially of the roller. This latter feature would appear if the laterally overlapping lugs be not present; that is to say, the friction elements or block may be plain'and arranged side by side in longitudinal over-- lapping relation, without the lateral offset relation. Such adjustment may be repeated from time to time until the forward projections or ofisets 65 are entirely cut away, after which the blocks may be reversed in their positions to present the other, or formerly trailing projections or ofl'sets for a like use and adjustment. The said stripper roller rotates continuously. \Vhen the met a! portion of the roller engages with the outermost wrapper or sheet in the magazine, the friction between the same and the wrapper is not sufficient to remove the wrapper from the bundle, but said wrapper is stripped during the time the curved faces of the friction blocks or elements of the roller pass in contact with the exposed wrappers of the group.

Extending downwardly between the stripper and the wrappers in the magazine, and located out of the planes of the friction blocks are guide wires 75, which are fixed 'at their upper ends to and extend dowir wardly from lugs 76 of a frame 77 extending forwardly from and supported on the magazine. Said guide rods extend almost to the feed slot (Fig. l) and prevent the wrap pers clinging to the face of the roller and thereby insure the proper guidance of the said wrappers into the wrapper recess 30.

In order that the advance ends of the frio tion gripping blocks may freely engage with the sheets or wrappers as the roller turns downwardly toward them, and for a further reason hereinafter to be described, the end flanges or enlargements 43, 44 of said roller are obliquely cut away in front of said ad vauce ends of the friction blocks, as shown at 78, to a plane substantially tangent to the curved face of the smaller diameter of the block.

The smaller part of the roller is provided at the rear ends of the friction gripping blocks with lugs 80 that are located with their outer ends in the circumferential line of the eylindric bearing faces of the flanges and the gripping friction blocks. The said lugs are located a distance in rear of the rear ends of the friction blocks so as to leave spaces .81 between the lugs and the rear ends of said blocks. The purpose of said lugs, thus spaced from the rear ends of the fric tion blocks, will be hereinafter described.

in order to prevent more than one wrapper from being stripped from the bundle at a time, provision of a holding or retarding device is made which is located near the top of the magazine. when the wrappers or sheets are stripped from the bottom there if, and which is so arranged as to permit the outermost wrapper to be stripped from the bundle, but to prevent the next wrapper inside the same from being simultaneously re moved. The mechanism for this purpose herein shown is made as follows: desig nates, a horizontally reciprocating plunger in front oftlie magazine which reciprocates in guide bearings 86, 86 integral with or carried by the frame 77. The plunger carries at its forward end a needle 88 which is arranged to penetrate the two or more outermost wrappers a, near their upper mar gins. When said needle is thus engaged with the wrappers the outermost wrapper is torn to release it from the needle when the wrapper is stripped from the bundle, but

the needle afiords such resistance to the redownwai rily extending moval of the second wrapper as not to be overcome by the friction of the wrapper being withdrawn upon the, second wrapper.

In order to prevent bits of paper torn from the sheets or wrappers clinging to the point of the needle, )rovision is made for giving the needle av movement such as will clear the needle point. of bits of paper, and such movement involves a reversal of direction, as for instance, a reciprocating move ment. As herein shown this movement. is an endwise reciprocating movement and it is elfccted as follows: 90 designates a block that is keyed or otherwise secured to the plunger S5, 9i designates a rock shaft which mounted in hearin in the frame 77 and is provided with an arm 02 having at its rppcr end a laterally extending bearing pin f t tha is adapted to engage in an. up wart'lly opening notch in the block 90. Fixed to the end of the rock shaft is :1

arm 94 that is provided with a laterally extending roller 95 which rides on the periphery of a cam 96 that iixedto the SiIlPIJPZ roller shaft 38 between the nut 55 and the flanged end 44 of the roller. l lxtcnding upwardly from the hub of thc arm 9i is a third arm 97, be tween the upper end of which and a lug 98 fixed to the magazine, extends a spring 99 which tends to hold the pin in its rearmost position tjpt'tlltl'ltttltig the wrappers) and to hold the bearing roller it?) against its cam. Locatedbelow the necdlo is a horizoi'itally arranged. tixed piatc 'ltltl which notched at its rear end to engage the outermost wrapper when the needle is withdrawn, and thereby hold the wrappers or sheets at this time in proper grouped relation in the magil'ZlllP. I

The operation of the stripping mechanism will he understood from an inspection of Figs. 10 to '17, both inclusive. In Figs. 10 and it is illustrated the positions of the stripper roller and the retarding needle just before the front ends of the friction elements of the roller engage with the outermostwrapper to strip it from the biindlc. At this time the needle penetrates the first few wrappers of the bundle at their ttppcr margins and holds the bundle pressed inwardly, the upper margins of the wrappers assuming a concave outline. The lower ends of the wrappers or sheets at this time spring outwardly, entirely across the magazine, which is permitted by reason of the fact that the cut-away portions 78 of' the roller flanges are llllllotl toward the bundle. ln l igs. l2 and ii are shown the position of the parts when the roller has advanced with the forward ends of the gripping blocks cngagcd with a heet or wrapper which it is in the act, of removing. .\n in spcctitm of said Fig. l3 illustrates the manner in which the front ends of said friction l l l t l l r i I l blocks engage the sheet, and this engagement continues until the sheet is removed entirely from the bundle. Figs. 14 and 15 illustrate the stripper roller at about the end of its stripping movement, or when the rear ends of the friction blocks are moving away from the bundle in the magazine. When the roller is in this position the lugs 80 are brought into contact with the next sheet to be withdrawn, just above the upper edge of the sheet being withdrawn, in a manner acting to hold or retard the inner sheet and prevents said sheet coming into the influence 0f the friction blocks, and acts also to facilitate freeing the upper margin of the sheet being withdrawn from the friction surface of the roller. During the movement of the stripper roller as illustrated, and as thus far de scribed, the needle 88 remains in its rearward position, engaged with the sheets or wrappers and holds the upper margins of the wrappers concave in plan view. After the friction side of the roller has passed the bundle and the lower side of the outermost sheet is engaged only at its margins by the smooth roller flanges, the needle 88 is withdrawn, under the action of the cam 96 and the mechanism operated thereby. When the needle is so withdrawn the upper portions of the sheets. wardly by the needle, as indicated in Figs. 10, 12 and l t, spring forwardly, as indicated in Fig. i0, into engagement with the notched edge of the plate 100, which latter prevents the sheets from losing tions in the magazine. The withdrawal of the needle and its subsequent penetration of the sheets, which occurs once during each rotation of the stripper roller, has the effect to keep the point of the needle clear of frag 105 ments of paper torn from the wrappers. The action of the roller on the wrappers, combined with the withdra ail of the needle from and its insertion into the wrappers, has the etlect to pers at the delivery end of the magazine and prevent them from sticking or adhering to each other, so that they may be readily withdrawn when the gripping surfaces of the roller strikes the same, as will be evi- 115 dent from an inspection of Figs. 10 to l7, both inclusive.

In practice the wrappers or sheets become enmeshed or adhere together at their surfaces under the subjected whcn cut from a plurality of superposed sheets. The surface fibers of the interleaved sheets are pressed into each other. The loosening of the sheets in the manner shown and described permits air to circulate 125 between the sheets and the movement of the sheets upon eachother with air between the same has the effect to readily free the sheets from each other. The magazine is pivotally mounted on its support so that it 130 thcretoforc )resscd intheir posiloosen the mass of wrappressure to which they are 12.

may be tipped upwardly at its inner end into the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4 to facilitate loading the magazine With wrappers.

I claim as my invention:

1. The combination with a magazine lo .cated above a horizontal way, a sheet receiving recess intermediate and transversely intersecting said way, said u'iagazine being adapted to contain sheets or wrappers arranged on edge, and with one end arranged directly oversaid recess, and means for holding the wrappers in a compact bundle in said magazine, of a rot ative stripper roll against which the bundle of wrappers is adapted to hrprcssed provided with a gripping surface adapted for engagement with the end sheets or wrappers of said bundle, and arranged to strip the sheets or wrappers directly from said bundle into said recess without change of direction, and means engaging the upper marginal parts of the first few outermost wrappers to prevent the stripping of more than one Wrapper at a time.

2. The combination with means for holding a compact bundle of sheets, of a stripper roller for stripping the sheets one at a time from said bundle comprising a shell having a smooth exterior surface and provided at one side with a longitudinal opening and separately formed friction memla rs arranged side by side in. said shell and having curved margins exposed through said longitudinal opening and constituting the grip ping surface of the roller, with clamping means acting longitudinally of the roller for holding the friction members in place.

3. The combination with means for holding a compact bundle of sheets, of a stripper roller comprising a hollow shell having a smooth exterior surface for contact with the sheets and provided at one side with a longitudinal opening, friction, members in said shell having curved margins exposed through said opening to constitute the segmental gripping surface of the roller and clamping disks acting longitudinally of the Shell between which said friction ntembers are clamped.

4. The combination with means frir holding a compact bundle of sheets, of a stripper roller comprising a hollow shell having a smooth exterior surface for conta t with the sheets, a shaft extending axially t irough the shell, said shell being provided at one side with an opening, clamping devices arranged on said shaft and friction members in the shell with means for angularly adjusting them relatively to each other and clamped between the clamping devices and having curved margins exposed through said opening to constitute the gripping surface of the roller, said friction members comprising flat bodies arranged side by side,

one of which is provided at its initial biting surface with a lateral extension or thickened portion that overlaps an adjacent friction member. 1

5. The combination with means for holding a compact bundle of wrappers, of a stripper roller comprising a hollow shell provided with end enlargements having smooth exterior cylindric surfaces for contact with the sheets, the roller being provided at one side with a longitudinal opening, friction members in said shell having curved margins exposed through said longitudinal opening and constituting the gripping surface of the roller, the curved margins of said friction members being arranged on the same circumference as the cylindric surfaces of the enlargements of the shell, -and the shell being cut away at its ends in line with said friction members to afford free contact of the friction members with the sheets.

6. The combination with means for holding a compact bundle of sheets, of a stripper roller having enlarged cylindrical ends and a reduced central portion, the latter provided with a longitudinal opening, friction members extending through said opening and removahly fixed in the reduced central hollow portion of the roller and provided with curved margins which lie in the circiunferential line of the enlarged ends of the roller.

7. The combination with means for bolding a compact bundle of sheets, of a stripper roller having enlarged cylindrical ends and a reduced central portion, the latter provided with a longitudinal opening, friction members extending through said opening and removahly fixed in the reduced central portion of the roller and provided with curved margins which lie in the circumferential line of the enlarged ends of the roller, there being gage lugs on the exterior of the reduced portion of the roller for locating raid friction members.

8. The combination with means for holding a compact bundle of sheets, of a stripper roller having enlarged cylindric ends and a reduced central portion, the latter provided with a longitudinal opening, [lat frietion members extending through said opening and provided with curved margins which lie in the circumferential line of the enlarged ends of the roller, said friction.) 1;

members being arranged fiatwise together in pairs and the pairs spaced apart longitudinally of the roller.

9. The combination with means for holding a compact bundle of sheets, of a stripper roller having enlarged cylindric ends and a reduced central portion, the latter provided with a longitudinal opening, frictionmembers extending through said openin and removably fixed in the reduced centre portion of the roller and provided with curved margins which lie in th circumferential line of the enlarged ends of the roller, and the members of each pair l ying tlatwiso together and adjustahlo relatively to each other in their plan 10. The combination, with means or holding a compact bundle of flier-is. of a stripper roller having enlarged oylindric ends and a reduced central portion. the latter provided with a longitudinal opening, tiat friction 1nen.ocr.-: extending outwardly through said longitudinal opening and provided with curved margins which lie in the circumferential line of the enlarged ends of the roller. said friction members being arranged in spaced pairs with the members of each pair side by ide and an angrod to be angua ljusted relatively to each other in their planes, and gage lugs on the reduced part of the roller against which the front margins of the friction members bear, the gage lugs tern'iinating short of the curved n'iargins of said friction members.

11. The combination with means of hold mg a compact bundle of sheets o a hollow stripper roller provided with a longitinlinal opening. flat friction membere extending outwardly through d longitudinal open-- ing and provided with calm margins arranged to const tute the EQ;I..]!iz!l gripping; anri: of the roller. a shaft rxicinling axially through the roller: clamping: uihli'a F311 rounding the nhal't between which the trim tion members are clamped togethen a fol. lower sleeve surroinuling the shaft at. the

. outer end of the roller and cooperating with means for pressing it toward said clamping disks and spacing sleeves for spacing the friction members longitudinally of t he roller.

The combination. with means for holding a wannaet bundle of sheets. of a hollow Stripper roller having enlarged cyl udrie ends and a reduced central portion. the lat ter provided with a longitudinal (awning. flat friction members extending i'iutwardly thr ugh said longitudinal opening and provided with curved margins which lie in the circumferential line of the enlarged ends of the roller. a shaft eu ending axially through the roller. clamping disks arrangrml in pairs and surrounding the ahaft and between which are clamped the fricti n mmnbers. and spacing means fo Spacing the trictirm members longitudinally of the roller. said clamping disks? ha Vin; eccentric parts' which extend outwardly into said Longitudinal opening and said eccentri pal-la luring pro vided with projections or teeth adapted to be pressed into tho friction members.

13. The combination with means for holil ing a coi'npact bundle of sheets, of a hollow stripper roller having enlarp. oylindric ends and a reduced central portion, the latter provided with a l ngitudinal opening,

shaft extending axially through said roller, segmental friction members lying at their inner smaller ends against the shaft and extending outwardly through said longritudinal opening and formed with outer curved margins that lie in the circumferential line of the enlarged ends of the roller, clamping disk: surrounding said shaft within the hollow roller, said dislm being arranged in pains and arranged to be clamped upon the friction members to hold the latter in place in the roller, means for spacing the pairs of said disks a part and spacing means interposed between the disks of each pair on the aide of the shaft, remote from the clamping members.

it. The combination with means for bolding a compact bundle of sheets, of a stripper roller having enlarged cylindric ends and a reduced central portion, and means forming on said reduced portion a curved segmental friction surface. which lies in the circumferential line of the enlarged cylinrlrio ends of the roller, the reduced portion of the roller being provided with a raised log or projection which is spaced a dislance from the rearcnd of said friction surface.

to. The cwnhiinition with means for hold- .compaci handle of sheets. of a stripper If! it! baring enlarged \'limlrio ends and a rt-tlucml central portion. the latter provided with a longitudinal opening, and friction members spa ed hingl'iludinally of the roller and extending outwardly through aid opening and formed with outer curved segmental surfaces which lie in the circumferential line of the enlarged ends of the roller and constituting the gripping surfaces of the roller, the reduced portion of the roller being provided with lugs or projections spaced :1 di tance from the rear ends of said friction members.

16. The combination with nit-aria for holdinn" a ompact bundle of sheet of a stripper roller having enlarged cylindric ends which bear against the foremost sheet of the bundle and a reduced central portion. and provided at its reduced portion with seg2= menial friction members having curved margins which lie in the circumferential line of the (nlurgsul ends of the roller. said enlarged cnd of the roller being cut away in front of the friction members in a manner to freely expose the front ends of the gripping members to the sheets.

17. The combination with means forholdinn a compact bundle of sheets. of a. stripper roller acting against the sheets at one margin thereof for stripping the sheetsone at a time from the bundle and irregularly formed to permit movement of the gheets toward andfroni the bundle to loosen the interleaved sheets a needle reciprocable toward and from the sheets and adapted to penetrate the first few sheets near the opsheets spring when the needle is withdrawn.

18. The combination with means for separately removing sheets from a group of sheets, of a needle reciprocable toward and from the group and adapted to penetrate the first few sheets near one margin thereof, and a fixed stop against which the sheets spring at the latter margin When the needle is withdrawn.

19. The combination with means for holding a compact bundle of sheets, of a stripper roller for removing the sheets one at a time,

said roller having enlarged ends which bear against the foremost sheet of the bundle and having a reduced intermediate portion, and segmental friction means Within said reduced portion between said enlarged ends, said ends being segment-ally cut away out of line with the friction means.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my invention I aflix my signature in the presence of two witnesses, this 28th day of September A. D. 1909.

HARRY YARRINGTON ARMSTRONG.

Witnesses:

W. W. HALL, G. R. \VILKINS. 

